1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a kit box and, more specifically, to such a box which is free of or minimizes electrostatic discharge therein.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Typically, the assembly of electronic systems requires that numerous parts be arranged and be available to an assembly operator in a manner which is conducive to minimizing assembly time by providing for easy identification, part segregation and control of the materials used by the assembler. This operation of organizing material is known as "kitting" and the part containers used in this operation are referred to as "kit boxes".
Standard prior art kit boxes are typically compartmented cardboard boxes or metal/plastic containing a plurality of stacked drawers. Such kit boxes have operated successfully in the past. However, as technology has advanced, and as components of circuits have become more miniaturized, damage to components due to electrostatic discharge has become a major problem in the manufacturing process which problem did not exist in the prior art wherein only larger components were utilized. A necessary measure required to minimize electrostatic discharge is to remove static generators from the work area. Thus, the prior art kit boxes, which were generally produced from cardboard and standard plastic have caused problems in that both materials are static generators. For this reason, one prior art kit box, composed of large compartmented cardboard boxes in the form of bins, while being of convenient size to accommodate typical quantities of most components used in assembly and being readily accessible by even relatively large hands and providing space for easy identification of the parts therein, has been a static generator. Also, due to its extremely light weight, it has been unstable, has suffered the normal wear attributed to cardboard materials and has not been conducive to efficient manufacture in electrostatically protective material embodiments. Electrostatically protective material is defined herein as any material which, as a result of its molecular composition, acts to reduce, retard, or eliminate damage due to electrostatic discharge. This definition includes, but is not limited to, anti-static, static dissipative and electrically conductive materials.
A further prior art configuration is composed of a metal or plastic box containing plastic drawers therein. This type of kit box is not conducive to assembly operation because the bin sizes will accommodate only a limited volume of components and the drawers must be physically opened for access to the parts therein. In addition, part identification is restricted. Therefore, even though this prior art kit box can be formed from electrostatically protective material, it still does not provide the desired features required for electronic assembly.
Further prior art devices have included stackable bins where one bin is stacked on top of the other without a housing. While such bins have a great deal of application due to their flexibility, such bins are easily knocked over when stacked due to a lack of a housing therefore. In addition, without a housing or lid, protection from electrostatic discharge and physical damage is reduced.
A fourth prior art kit box utilizes flexible bins which are coated with an electrostatically protective material. The user folds the material and uses tab locks to form a bin. This type of kit box has been difficult to produce with a consistancy of size and shape and has therefore found little acceptance in the industry. Furthermore, the conductive coating deteriorates with normal wear.
It can be seen that what is required is a kit box which can be formed utilizing an electrostatically protective material, preferrably a moldable plastic, to minimize electrostatic discharge, and which can be efficiently manufactured to provide a kit box having easy accessibility to parts therein, constant segregation of the different parts and easy identification of the parts in each box to the assembly operator during the assembly operation.